Thanks Mel - I'll be interested to see what your counselor tells you. I do have a year of maintenance, but when I started that I signed paperwork that said if I gained more than 5 pounds during that year I'd re-sign up and go back on plan. Their reason for that is that at more than 5 pounds clothes start to not fit and things. And - they've found that if you can keep the weight off for a year you're 85% more likely to keep it off for good. As soon as I can get back down to my goal weight, I'll go back in to the center....but I can't for now because I know they'll want me to sign up for more program. I have the tools - I just need to get them back out and put them to work!

Hi all - I'm back from time off the plan. I got within a few pounds of my goal weight and then just quit focusing and gained 35 lbs back in just a few months! I re-signed and weighed in at 178 on May 13. Yesterday I weighed in at 168 and am happy to be back on track. I look forward to meeting all the new folks and seeing some of the people who were active here when I was. I found more support here than from my center. I'll need to change my ticker

Thanks for the info on maintenance! I did not realize that if you gained more than 5 lbs you had to resign....I will have to watch it carefully. I currently weigh at home every other day out of habit and it is the same as the center if I weigh and go WI right after. Did you count calories? If so, what program did you use?

I know that you can lose those pesky 7 - 10 lbs really quick, just keep doing what you are doing with the green menu. Like you said we have the tools we just need to use them! Good luck......




Hi Mary! Welcome back! Good job on losing 10 lbs in less than a month! Keep up the great work and keep coming back, everyone here is very supportive (you already know that...lol ) and the information shared here is so very valuable!

Take care!

Mel

I am getting back on track too. I lost 55 pounds the first time (a year ago) but gained 27 pounds back since then. It sure can creep back on when you're not looking. I re-signed today and am looking forward to starting tomorrow with the conditioning menu. This site really helped me last time and I am looking forward to making some new friends.

just read all the june thread. i am a repeater also...i am getting mental about restarting tomorrow....i've got to be brave to go to the center and get on the scale...i'm not looking forward to that..but , hey, if i don't start somewhere....

That is positively scary. I don't remember reading that on my contract.


Hello 2kiddos, tvmiche, ieduc8em, and Mary!

Hi Pat & tvmitche. It's good to see you again! So far, Day 3 is going well.

Congrats on the loss, khunter! I think outings like baseball tournaments are especially hard. Have you packed a ballgame cooler for yourself? I try to measure out easy things like Boar's Head turkey meat or sliced rotisserie meat and portion them in sandwich baggies. When I'm packing a lunch, I'll usually include a ziploc baggy of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, too, and an apple or premeasured fruit. One of the girls on the board last summer also took premixed HNS in used water bottles, I think.

Having been through this process before, it is interesting to me how when I go on plan, foods that I normally wouldn't even notice start tempting me. I can't remember the last time I ate a pre-packaged baked goodie--it has probably been a decade--but yesterday I popped into a convenience store I frequent and suddenly those kinds of snacks were all I could see. I was strong, but I'm going to have to steel myself for future bizarre temptations.

First I want to welcome back all the "oldies" (not to be a pun)...so glad you are back and can give us some new advice in what you have learned during the time you were on plan and off plan. My question is, when you completed your agreement with MRC, what was your main reason you would say that made you gain your weight back? This really concerns me because after losing the weight successfully on MRC, I am scared that after all the work to lose, you gain it back quite quickly, as one poster said. Can any of you give us some points to why and how we can prevent this happening to us? Thank you!

I may be a little slow on the uptake, but I tried spaghetti squash today for the first time and OMG! It's changed my life! I made grilled chicken, steamed the squash and added diced roma tomatoes with minced garlic, a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese and pepper. It was a delicious meal!!! I'm on mediquick right now and the liquid meals are invoking cravings and this really satisfied my craving for pasta. I really hope I show a good loss at weigh in on Friday.

MMMMM sounds delicious!!! Tell me, did you cut the squash in half, and how long did you steam it? I have tried cooking it once and in the microwave, but I know there has to be another way to fix it. You made me hungry for this now.

I am a mail order MRC'er, and I did not have a supervised stabilization. I also had a lot of distractions while I was trying to stabilize, and that didn't help. Eventually I gave up and just started eating what was being served, within reason. I tried to continue eating healthy, which is why I think I didn't gain more back than I did. Also, I'm not totally freaked out by my gain because I think a lot of it is water. I like diet soda a lot. I also noticed that when my dog went home to stay with my parents at the end of the semester, I stopped walking her every day, and that's when I decided the weight situation might be getting out of hand.

Hi everyone, I joined Metabolic Research Center in May.and lost 5 lb on the pre conditioning. I started the Yellow Menu May 25 and to date I have lost a total of 101/2 lbs. Monday when I went in I did not lose any. I am staying OP. They keep telling me it will come off. I sure hope it does soon.

Fiftieslady-

I did cut the spaghetti squash in half, removed the seeds, and placed each half on a plate with 1/4" of water in it. I then microwaved each half for ten minutes, and then scraped them with a fork. I was amazed how pasta-like it turned out. If you eat it thinking 'squash' rather than 'spaghetti/pasta' you will be amazed how good it tastes. If you think 'pasta' you might be disappointed. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor which makes it perfect to add what you want to flavor it some. I'm thrilled with this! I think I could add mushrooms and capers, or other spices to really 'Italianize' it. Love it!

Great loss vabbus! Stick with it and it will come off. My loss has been a two steps back, three steps forward journey. I keep focusing on my ultimate goal....which my contract is up in August...I can stick with anything til August knowing what the results will be. Don't give up...it will take awhile to lose it all. Be patient and focus on every victory, not just the scale (smaller sizes, a compliment, resisting a temptation, etc.)

To answer Fifties Lady's question, I have to say that I did not make good choices. I did what they told me to do for a little while. Then I started snacking and thinking I could eat whatever I wanted to. They give you a good eating plan to follow in maintenance and I didn't stay with it. I learned this time though and will make better choices. I really think I learned a lesson. Unfortunately it is an expensive one! The one thing I know is MRC worked for me and it will again.